[MattH]

Hi..

Well I am looking to buy my first 300 paulson pharoh chips and would like some help in which denoms to buy and how to setup the blinds for a t1000 tourney with up to 8 players.

Currently using a cheap set off of ebay of similar denoms (1,5,25,50,100) and after the game on christmas night it was clear help was needed.

With the blinds starting at 5-10 after the first couple of games (it was very much a beginner game hence heavy betting ) one or 2 players had most of the 5 chips and so there was constant buying between players.. it was not so bad once the blinds moved up.

Whatever denom structure I buy will be used for the odd cash game but t1000 tourneys are more likely.

So how should I go about my purchase? Max 300 chips to start (which I think for 8 players would be enough...)

Thanks

Matt

[krw17]

20 - $5 chips = $100 (160 chips needed)
12 - $25 chips = $300 (96 needed - make it 100)
6 - $100 chips = $600 (48 needed - make it 50)

310 total chips needed approximately....

I have found that this starting chip count works pretty well for me. Wouldn't leave you any wiggle room though. Of course with 8 people and only 300 chips, it will be tight to squeeze out any T1000 configuration.

[tomb1]

For tourneys, we have better luck using more of the middle chips and fewer of the lowest denomination. This lets you get more players for the chips you buy. You also have to account for coloring up ("racing off") the lowest chips when the blinds get higher. (For example, taking out all the $5 chips and replacing them with $25s once the blinds get to $25/$50 and a few players are knocked out.)

Here's a suggestion that works well for 8 players:

10 x $5 (total 80 chips)
14 x $25 (112)
6 x $100 (48 )
Total 30 chips each for T$1,000 starting stacks

On top of the starting stacks you need more $25s to color up the $5s, and some $100s to color up the $25s if you wish. This gives you all $100s in play when you're down to 2-3 players.

Total quantities to buy for a 300 set would be:
80 x $5
140 x $25 (allows for coloring up all $5s with a few extras)
80 x $100 (allows for coloring up all $25s in play)

With a little tweaking you can easily host a 10-man tourney with 300 chips. I have 300 Pharaoh's (with higher denoms) that easily support 10 players.

[MattH]

Thanks.. what would be the suggested starting blinds then as the 5 will do all the hard work for the first few rounds ? and would you then cap the raising in a fixed limit tourney (or is no limit the norm on the whole ?)

So if I started with these 300 what would be the recommendation for adding to it for 500/1000 chips and what sort of TXXXX tourneys would these numbers of chips normally support ?

Cheers for the help.. looking forward to ordering the paulsons soon

Matt

[tomb1]

I assumed you were talking about a NL tournament, not fixed limit. With those chips and a T$1,000 stack, blinds would increase something like 5/10, 10/20, 15/30, 25/50, 50/100, 75/150, 100/200, 150/300, 200/400, etc. (or maybe a little slower like SB of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, etc.)

To add more chips, I would suggest only 4 total denoms for a tourney set (unless you're going to have a very large number of players). So in this case you could add some $500s on top. You're probably not going to be able to support a starting stack bigger than $1,500 or so with $5 as your lowest denom. If you want a larger start, then you're probably looking at $25 as your minimum.

For example, here's a configuration that works --

300 chip set:
80 x $25
140 x $100
50 x $500
30 x $1,000

Starting stack of T$5,000:
8 x $25
13 x $100
3 x $500
2 x $1,000
total 26 chips each.

This will support 10 players, though there are not quite enough chips to color up everything with that number of players. But people just keep a few $100s at the end.

[Devilboy]

For maximum fun you need to give each player a starting stack of at least 30 chips. Less than that and you'll be making change from other players a lot and it can become a bother.

Another rule of thumb is that you should have about 100 - 200 chips in play when it gets down to the final 2 players. That makes them feel like they've come a long way (cause they'll have nice big stacks in front of them) but the number of chips are still easily countable in the case of a big all-in.

300 chips is perfect for 8 players. My suggestion for T1000:

15 x $5 = 120 chips
13 x $25 = 104 chips and 24 chips more to colour-up the $5s
6 x $100 = 48 chips

That's 34 chips starting stack with room to colour-up with 296 chips. So you need to buy

120 x $5
130 x $25
50 x $100

[Brewster]

For a change of pace I will suggest a set that takes rebuys into account. I've been playing around with a spreadsheet program and come up with a four colour set that shows some potential.

T1000 starting stacks (8 players):
10 x $5 = 80 chips
14 x $25 = 112 chips
6 x $100 = 48 chips
Starting stacks will total 30 chips which is a fine number to start with.

Order 80 $5 chips ($400)
Order 128 $25 chips ($3200) - leaves 16 ($400) to colour up all $5 chips
Order 80 $100 chips ($8000) - leaves 32 ($3200) to colour up all $25 chips
Order 12 $500 ($6000) chips for a total of 6 rebuys (this is great for building the prize money!)

80+128+80+12=300 and no wasted chips.

Before you ask, YES, I do have way too much time on my hands these days.

[MattH]

Thanks for all the help...I think with the current starter level of all the players (myself included) then the rebuy would be a good idea !

Cheers

Matt

[krw17]

Originally Posted by MattH

Thanks for all the help...I think with the current starter level of all the players (myself included) then the rebuy would be a good idea !

Cheers

Matt

Your original post mentioned that early rounds saw too many players having to make change. This is something you were specifically trying to avoid. Keep in mind that the fewer low denom chips you start out with the more pronounced this problem will be. If it bothers you, I sure wouldn't start out with less than 15 $5 chips. Several ways to make it work but think back to the real reason you made the post in the first place. Also, having more lower denoms in your set will help make your set more useful when you attempt to use it for a cash game as you mentioned you might do.

[MattH]

Right... me again.. not actually bought my chips yet.. though I have samples winging there way to me. I have bought (could not resist) some egyptian octagons/plaques (only 5 of each though) and so I would like to incorporate them into my games alongside the 300 chips I plan to buy.

So do I just drop the $5 chipo and start at $25? what would be a good TXXX to use to allow me to use the 1000/5000 chips in a max 8 player tourny ?

Once I sort my chip allocation just got to decide which ones..

Thanks

Matt